Mayor Peduto pans design for planned 21-story office in Pittsburgh's Strip District

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said he wasn’t impressed with the design for a 21-story office tower that New York-based JMC Holdings has planned for the site of a cold storage warehouse in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.

Peduto said the company would have to come up with a design more in line with the Strip’s historic architecture if it intends to seek subsidies or variances from Pittsburgh.

“The architectural design doesn’t match the Strip District,” he said, adding that it reminds him of Brutalist architecture from the 1950s and 1960s. “It’s just four sides, no features. It makes that building stand out in an area that’s seen a lot of growth recently. The design of new buildings are meant to complement historic architecture of the Strip.”

The mayor said he would not oppose the $245 million project.

“It just means that if they’re looking for any variances or public subsidies, it would be contingent upon a design that enhances the historic nature of the Strip, and not one that is in conflict with it,” he said.

JMC did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

Last week, the company announced plans for an environmentally friendly building at Penn Avenue and 15th Street on the site of the former Federal Cold Storage warehouse. The landmark concrete warehouse, adorned with lighting in the shape of a fish and commonly known as the Wholey’s Building, will be demolished to make way for the tower.

Matt Cassin, a JMC partner, said in an email last week that the company was “open to suggestions” about what to do with a popular “Smilin’ Fish” sign on the side of building, once used for by Wholey fish wholesale business.

Plans call for 13 floors of office space totaling 520,000 square feet, a retail colonnade and storefronts totaling 17,000 square feet at the ground level and seven floors of parking with nearly 900 spaces, Cassin said. He said the parking area would be open to the public on weeknights and weekends.

Demolition is expected to begin this spring, and the building is expected to be finished by late 2022.

One floor is being set aside for tenant amenities, including conference rooms, a fitness center and a landscaped outdoor terrace overlooking the Strip and Allegheny River.

The parking levels will feature electric car charging stations and a bicycle parking and maintenance facility.

The building’s ground floor will include a public open space, cafe, bike shop and high-end shops and restaurants.

Cassin said the company has closely monitored development in the Strip, particularly the influx of technology firms, since purchasing The Pennsylvanian apartment building at Grant Street and Liberty Avenue for $8.1 million in 2016.

“There is clearly demand for premium Class A office space today in Pittsburgh for both existing tenants in the market and for tenants new to the city. In our opinion this building, given its location at the gateway of the Strip District and Downtown, represents the best development site in the city,” Cassin said.

He added that the project would serve as an economic driver for Pittsburgh.

“Not only will this building drive economic and community development in the region, it will be directly responsible for the attraction of new businesses and other economic activity in the Strip District,” he said.